Online services may provide users with the ability to send and receive instant messages. Instant messages are private online conversations between two or more people who have access to an instant messaging service, who have installed communications software necessary to access and use the instant messaging service, and who each generally have access to information reflecting the online status of other users.
An instant message sender may send self-expression items to an instant message recipient. Current implementations of instant messaging self-expression enable a user to individually select self-expression settings, such as an avatar capable of being animated, an unanimated icon, and a wallpaper, which settings thereafter project to other users who see or interact with that person online.